Bancroft century ensures UAE loss in tour opener

Manjula Guruje’s six-wicket haul wasn’t enough to give the United Arab Emirates a win as it fell 38 runs short of the target set by Western Australia in the first match of the ICC High Performance Programme Associate Tour of Australia and New Zealand at the WACA in Perth on Friday (September 12).

Opting to bat, Western Australia posted 245 for 9 in its 50 overs on the back of wicketkeeper Cameron Bancroft’s 127-ball 119. UAE lost wickets at regular intervals, to be bowled out for 207 in the first match of its tour of Australia and New Zealand.

Guruje picked up opener Marcus Harris for 4 in the fourth over of the innings and ran through Western Australia’s batting order. Bancroft’s innings was the sole highlight: the next-best score was a 31 scored by Nick Hobson.

In UAE’s chase, after losing both openers within seven overs, captain Khurram Khan shared a 53-run stand for the third wicket with Saqib Ali. When he fell for 40 off 52 balls, there was much work to be done by the middle order.

Shaiman Anwar (41) and Mohammad Naveed (41) tried resurrecting the innings, giving UAE an outside chance of a win, but David Moody’s two wickets in the 47th over ended the match. Moody finished with three wickets, while Matt Dixon, Andrew Tye and Hilton Cartwright picked up two apiece.

The next game will be played between the same sides on Sunday (September 14).